Thursday, March 22, 2012

Before moving on to “The Beat Escape,” here are a few things taking place in Chicago tonight.

Factory Theater’s launch party for the return of White Trash Wedding And A Funeral is being held at Chief O’Neill’s Pub (no relation to Jimme) from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. It’s free to get in, but for a $5 admission fee, patrons can compete to be named Miss White Trash. The winner gets to wear a tiara and sash for a ‘glamour shot’ that will remain on display at the box office for the duration of the play. Factory Theater is celebrating its 20th season.

Also tonight, the politically charged band, Vortis, which includes veteran rock critic and Sound Opinions co-host Jim DeRogatis on drums, is performing at Ultra Lounge, along with trash band, The Funs, and the one-woman art performance of Lam! Lam! Admission ranges from $6 to $8, show time is 9:00 PM.

From 1979 through 1981, Fingerprintz embodied the motto, If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again. Led by the talented and seemingly macabre lead vocalist Jimme O’Neill, the UK band went punk on its debut, The Very Dab; moved on to a more catchy pop approach for Distinguishing Marks; and aimed for dance clubs with Beat Noir. Musically, Fingerprintz succeeded at each genre they tried, but in terms of commercial appeal, they flopped. O’Neill, along with guitarist Cha Burnz, would find a bit more success with The Silencers, but for the most part, he remains one of rock’s unsung anti-heroes.

For years, Fingerprintz was one of those unfortunate acts (like Chicago’s punk pioneers, Bohemia) whose songs never made it on to a CD. But in researching this piece, I found that it’s now possible to download Fingerprintz songs from their Last.FM page. I highly recommend checking that out.

“The Beat Escape” was taken from the 1981 album, Beat Noir, which found Fingerprintz lead vocalist-songwriter Jimme O’Neill setting his disturbing imagery to irresistible synth beats. This song is a relatively harmless invitation to party, with an exotic arrangement and cryptic lyrics. O”Neill begins with a “crazy enfant” with a “nomad heart” whose gyrations resemble a whirling dervish. The action takes on global proportions, with lyrics like, “Mad dance/crazy round the world/Crazy boys and girls.” There are also references to naked city civil servants and an approaching carnival, but that’s pretty much typical Fingerprintz fare. Perhaps most importantly, “The Beat Escape” is an energetic and catchy song, augmented by horns.

The non-album B-Side, “Disorient Express,” is an instrumental, except for some ominous mumbling about midway through. It’s dark and melodic, and a worthy addition to the Fingerprintz oeuvre.

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About This Blog

Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.